When it comes to selecting a protocol for use, systems integrators (SIs) have a number of factors to consider. According to Julian Watson, Principal Analyst for IoT at IHS Markit, this means SIs should be able to grasp the problems that a city faces so that they can provide the right solutions to make it smarter.
“Most smart cities projects involve a number of partners," Watson said.“Therefore, systems integrators will need to work with a range of other companies, such as telecoms operators, equipment vendors, device and sensor providers and software and platform companies in creating an end-to-end solution. They should first understand the city’s problem (such as inefficient waste bin collection or congestion caused by the lack of information on free parking spaces). They then need to work out a business model and what technologies are best suited to both addressing the city’s problem and supporting the business model.”
Bringing together networks for smart cities definitely involve several challenges for SIs. According to Pankaj Vyas, R&D MD, Telit, major among them is creating independent networks for specific applications that may be difficult to unify and centralize.
“There is a big risk that they may end up creating very fragmented networks for different services without considering how they will be able to merge them together, to be controlled and monitored,” he said. “[They have to go] with the right partner, who has a complete solution, who can get you a wide array of products, not just on the hardware front, but also on the software services, all the way to the cloud. That is the key. Otherwise it could be a nightmare and SIs could end up in a place where a lot of things will have to be reworked.”
Going beyond such technological challenges, Watson suggested that the major concerns ahead of SIs may have to do with the economic aspects of the project.
“Much of the challenges with smart cities is less about technologies,” Watson pointed out. “It’s more about demonstrating return on investment and designing a business model that fits the needs of both the city and multiple partners. Systems integrators can play an important role in building interoperable ecosystems among many different partners.”
Ultimately, the choice of wireless protocol boils down to the application. Considering the various aspects that are key to the success of a project, SIs would have to finalize on a protocol that would be cost efficient but would prove effective in the long term.
Watson notes that SIs and distributors should understand what wireless protocols best address specific applications or use cases. They should focus on the smart cities verticals and technologies where they have the most expertise. As per above, many different technologies will be used in smart city development.